The Demon's Handfast
by Dizzydodo
Summary: Kaoru never believed the old stories until she found herself a demon's captive with a red string of fate about her finger. Kenshin proposes a bargain: He will free her, but if after a year and a day Kaoru has not found anyone she loves as much as he loves her, then she will return willingly to him. He never promised to play fair.
1. Night Parade

A.N. :The "night parade" here is partially influenced by the "Hyakki Yagyo" and the "Wild Hunt". Wikipedia has very enjoyable articles on both, with links to better sources.

I'd like to blame Kate Elliott's "Cold Magic" for this plot bunny, but I haven't actually moved past chapter two yet and it's been sitting on my shelf for almost a year, so I will pin the blame squarely on chapter two.

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Kaoru knew the stories well enough- the demon's procession, the night parade that killed or spirited away anyone unfortunate enough to be caught out wandering on too dark nights. She had never believed though, not really. It was only a myth, a story designed to keep children indoors at night. Now, with the pebbles on the path dancing beneath her feet as though disturbed by hoof beats she could not hear, Kaoru began to wonder if perhaps she should have listened closer to those old tales.

She stepped to the side of the path, fingers clamping purposefully about the hilt of her _shinai_. Whatever was coming, she wouldn't run; it would be a wasted effort anyway, flat and barren as the land was. Wind whipped about her, carrying with it a breath of winter's chill and finally the steady thrum of riders on horseback, laughter and the faint sound of music. Kaoru drew a breath, willing herself to stay calm.

Her first sight of the host strained that resolve almost to its breaking point. She had hoped that her imagination had run away with her, that perhaps mounted travelers had chosen a lesser-known road, but no one could mistake either the horses or their riders for anything natural. The horses were sleek and muscled, manes and banners streaming behind them- even they seemed intimidating at a distance with the unholy fire in their eyes and the way they seemed almost to fly toward her. Beside them ran creatures she had only ever seen in shadow plays or printed paper: small, twisted creatures that clawed their way across the ground with alarming speed, hulking beasts of fantastical colors with too few or too many eyes.

Leading them was a man whose crimson hair streamed behind him, whipping about in the unseasonably chill wind. Though he seemed more normal than the creatures snapping at his heels and trailing at his side, she could not mistake him for a human even with all the space still separating them. Kaoru's gaze had locked with his when they were still forty paces apart, and she could have sworn her heart had stopped for a split second, _shinai_ falling from nerveless fingers to clatter forgotten in the dust. She couldn't even muster the will to run when his horse skidded to a stop less than a foot from her, though no rocks or dust flew from its hooves to beat against her.

When he dismounted, closing what little distance remained between them with a graceful glide, some measure of self-awareness trickled back. Kaoru wasn't sure where to look: at the man who despite his unremarkable height seemed to loom over her, near enough that she felt the heat of his body prickling the hairs on her exposed skin or at the red string tied about her little finger that had snapped taut the moment her eyes had met his own. The world seemed to spin about her, sights and sounds blending into a cacophony of sensation that threatened to deprive her of consciousness, but she would be _damned_ before she played the part of the fainting damsel. She scrambled for the chant her father had taught her as a child during her play, never dreaming his daughter would actually need it. The night parade didn't exist.

Except it had gathered about her, blocking any possible escape, and every strange unblinking eye seemed to be fixed on her and the crimson-haired man.

Her eyes followed the string, lit by the ghost lights her erstwhile captors carried. It connected her to his unexpectedly slender hand, held splayed before him, perfectly steady unlike her trembling fingers. Kaoru followed the arm up to its shoulder and finally to the eyes not so far above her own; she saw her own disbelief reflected there, not unmixed with frustration.

 _Who are you_? The question hovered on the tip of her tongue, but she suspected the answer would only add another question to a steadily growing list of them.

"Who are you?" Despite her best intentions, the question slipped free. Kamiya Kaoru was known for a handful of things among her acquaintances; biting her tongue had never been among them. " _What_ are you?" One question begged the other, and if she was going to take the risk once she may as well take it twice.

"And what is _this_?" Her voice rose, desperation quickly becoming anger. The sinking feeling in her gut warned her she wouldn't like the answer. It looked exactly what she had thought the red string of fate must look like, only that wasn't possible. Whatever rules governed the spiritual world- and until tonight she would have sworn there wasn't one- could not extend to her, a human woman who had never had the time to dream of something so frivolous as a fated love.

The man didn't answer but his eyes locked on the same string, flashing back to her face incredulously once more. She didn't have time to be offended before he had grabbed her hand, expression hardening into a stone mask she couldn't even begin to read.

"Come." He spoke the single word with all the assurance of a lord commanding a loyal vassal, confident he would be obeyed. Kaoru had the distinct impression most of this host had never questioned the authority he wielded before. She dug her heels into the dirt, leaning her weight back until she had enough space to throw herself to the ground. She stretched, reaching for the abandoned _shinai_ out of habit more than anything else, but in a flash he had kicked it out of her grip and fixed her with such a glare it might have frozen a lesser woman's blood.

Kaoru prided herself on being made of sterner stuff, but even she felt a frisson of fear run down her spine at the glance. Desperate, she grabbed a handful of dirt instead, throwing it at his eyes in a last-ditch effort to make him release her. His grip faltered only for a moment, then tightened to bruising intensity as he yanked her up, tossing her over his shoulder as if she were a sackful of grain. Screaming all of the filthy words she could remember, she raked at his back, throwing her leg into his gut with as much force as she could muster. She had the satisfaction of hearing him gasp for air- perhaps he was not so different from a human after all- but the next moment he had thrown her into the saddle, mounting behind her and whirling the horse so quickly she would have fallen but for his arms caging her on either side.

Whatever else she had to say was swallowed up by the wind whistling around them, and she couldn't take another breath with his weight pressing her firmly into the pommel, one hand knotted in his horse' mane and the other twined tight in her clothing. She didn't yelp at the sharp tug of her hair, too focused on trying not to see the scenery passing them by in a blur. Kaoru had never been on horseback, and she promised herself right then that if her feet ever touched precious earth again she'd never be tempted back into a saddle. Not if she lived a thousand years with a few to spare.

Between the shock of being abducted by a demon and the lack of air as her lungs were steadily crushed against the saddle, Kaoru didn't bother to fight the nauseous feeling that overwhelmed her, finally allowing herself to slip into the comfort of oblivion while that damnable scarlet thread still taunted her even in her bizarre dreams.

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"Battousai." Megumi's lips pursed with displeasure, still reluctant to address him by the name he had been given. Once he would have been sympathetic, but the years weighed heavily on him and he had well and truly grown into the title. "There is a human girl in my quarters." Her one visible tail, still white as snow despite her age, flicked with annoyance but her face remained as studiously composed as ever; he expected no less from her.

"Yes." He didn't elaborate, and she didn't dare to press him on the matter. For once he considered inviting her opinion; what was he to do with the girl? He glanced down to his finger, shifting his focus until at last he saw the thread once more. He didn't have a name to put to the feeling that settled at the back of his skull; it was a bewildering combination of dread, anticipation and satisfaction all at once. He hadn't felt so much in too many years to count, and he barely remembered the knack of it.

Foxes were territorial beasts by nature, and Megumi was a true woman of her kind. He could feel the effort it cost her not to protest, and the moment she decided to press her luck another way. "How long will that be?"

"Until I decide otherwise." Mere hours ago, he had been very certain he didn't have a 'destiny', that no god could be cruel enough to bind someone to him so irrevocably. Then he had felt the painful tug, seen the string that might as well have been his own heart's blood, and helpless as any of the lesser spirits he had followed it to the young woman who even now lay in Megumi's chamber. Why he had taken her there, Battousai still wasn't certain. Not one of his kind would have eyed him askance for taking her straight to his own rooms; he could have ravished her in the grand hall- something his comrades had clearly expected- and been greeted with no more than knowing smirks.

He remembered the naked fear in her eyes just before it had turned to anger, the half-snarl of desperation as she had reached for a weapon, anything she could find even if it was only a pitiful handful of dust. Despite the whispers bruited about his domain, he had a shred of conscience left and it would not allow him to trample on her spirit by so bluntly reminding her of her defeat. He glanced back over his shoulder, telling Megumi without words that she had overstayed her welcome. She didn't scurry out, but she wasn't slow to leave him either.

Battousai found his feet carrying him toward the room where he had left the girl. This would be the pattern of his days from now on he knew, unless they mutually accepted this bond it would continue to draw them together regardless of their preferences. Or at least that was how all the old stories were told.

Wandering through halls that echoed with hollow emptiness, past others that assaulted his ears with the sound of drunken revelry, he made his way to the wing where Megumi kept her rooms. She had chosen the one farthest from his own, someplace he was almost guaranteed never to wander. Someplace the others wouldn't either, and that was the crux of it. Not all of the creatures he kept watch over remembered their consciences, if ever they had one to begin with. Nowhere in this realm would a human find absolute safety, but this was the nearest it could come.

He stopped at the threshold of her room, vexed that he had given into the unconscious impulse, annoyed that a nameless human already had him wrapped about her little finger… in the most literal possible sense. Of course it was his own fault she remained nameless; she had struggled and twisted so much even in the saddle that he had finally woven a sleep on her. Perhaps if he had attempted to answer her questions, offer her some assurance that she would be safe in his keeping, he could have had her name from her.

A Human's name wouldn't hold half the power of his own, but it would have bound her to him in some small way. Enough that he would at least have had something to call her besides "the girl." More accurately "the woman", he thought, but time didn't move the same in her world either.

For the first time in mortal ages, Battousai found himself wrestling with uncertainty. Should he wait for her to wake and stumble through this labyrinth looking for him? The thread would guide her, but who knew which path it might take? He could set Aoshi as a guard, have her brought to him as soon as she stirred, but Aoshi wouldn't be half so forgiving as he had been. And some pit of jealousy stirring in his gut didn't want her seeing anyone else but him when she first woke. That settled the debate. He slid the shouji open, stealing into the room as quietly as a cat.

She slept on, limbs splayed every which way, loose raven hair tangled and caught under her elbow. The sleeve of her shirt had come unfastened to bare the curve of her shoulder; his eyes fixed on it for a moment, following a constellation of freckles that ended on the delicate outline of her collar bone. Someday he would trace that path with his tongue, sucking bruises into the pale flesh while her nails raked him in a very different way. Startled at the thought, he very deliberately turned his gaze to her face. She was pretty in an earthy way, and his kind had never shared the peculiar human reticence surrounding sex and attraction. Still, if his… bride was human, he would compromise.

Her chest, rising and falling in the steady rhythm of sleep, stilled just long enough for his eyes to catch it, lashes flickering and finally clenching closed once more; she sensed his presence, even only half-awake.

"I know you're awake." Battousai was surprised to find a thin tendril of amusement creeping into his tone. There was something vaguely endearing about her refusal to do anything the way he expected. Rather than fainting dead away when confronted by his procession and its horrors she had demanded answers of him; his compulsion hadn't worked on her either, and his back still stung with the proof of her defiance. He had expected her to come awake fighting, and positioned himself in front of the door to block her flight.

Instead she pushed herself up onto her elbows, wincing when it caught her hair. She tugged viciously, shifting her weight to wriggle into a sitting position before fixing him with a glare that could have lit a candle at a hundred paces. Even then she managed to surprise him; rather than hissing and spitting, her tone was perfectly measured when she spoke: "Where's my ribbon?"

She pulled her hair back, fingers catching in tangles that she combed out by rote.

He had debated whether he would return it to her; sometime during their flight it had come undone, and he had bound it about it his wrist for safekeeping. When she asked in that tone, so obviously trying to cling to some semblance of normalcy, he found himself pushing back his sleeve, tugging the blue ribbon loose and presenting it to her in much the way a hero might have presented the head of a dragon to his beloved. Not that she seemed particularly impressed; she eyed his hand like a poisonous viper, snatching the ribbon from his fingers as quickly as she could without actually touching him.

"Thank you." She muttered stiffly, binding her hair and settling her clenched fists on her lap in a way that suggested she wouldn't be shy about using them.

He clasped his hands at his sides, the better for her to see them, but her gaze turned unerringly to the sword at his hip instead, lingering there with obvious nervousness. He shifted, adjusting his sleeve to block it from her view, and embarrassed at being caught staring she quickly locked her eyes on his.

When he had first seen her on the path he had been so consumed by sheer disbelief he hadn't truly taken the time to actually look at her eyes. He committed them to memory now, the sapphire blue shade, complementing the curling dark lashes that lined the tip-tilted curve of them. They swept over him searchingly from his feet to his face, dwelling on the unnatural red shade of his hair, pulled behind him in a sensible pony-tail much like hers.

He knelt, far enough from her that she wouldn't think it was a threat, close enough that he could reach out and touch her if he dared. Not yet. It was not his privilege yet, but his fingertips already ached to twine with her own and feel the strength he could see reflected in the toned muscle of her arm. He remembered the shinai she had carried, lying forgotten on the path too far away for her to find now and wondered if her hands would be as calloused as his, the skin of her palm work roughened and firm.

Mostly though, he wanted her name.

"Where did you bring me? Why?" She glanced at her finger, doubtless guessing the answer to her own question but unable to see it without first learning the trick of concentration it took to glimpse beyond the veil of the natural world. It would be easier here in this border between worlds, but it was a skill that had to be taught.

"Are you going to answer any of my questions at all?" She finished dryly, visibly swallowing her frustration.

With a start, Battousai realized that he had only addressed her once and then only to command her obedience. He ought to choose his words carefully, say something that would soothe her nerves and set her at ease with him… but the newly awakened imp in him couldn't resist needling her, delighting in the new and confusing emotions that had been bombarding him from the moment he had dragged her kicking and screaming into his world.

"Among my kind, it's customary to offer a name before asking too many questions-"

He meant to offer his own, a tentative peace offering between them, but she cut him off with a clipped "Kaoru. Kamiya Kaoru."

 _Kaoru_. She gave it to him so easily, but his blood sang with victory. He could find her now, no matter where she went. Time and distance were immaterial when it came to true names, and he felt the truth of hers deep in his bones like it had simply been waiting for him to remember it.

"Kaoru," there was no need to repeat it, but he enjoyed the way the syllables rolled off his tongue, "I am…" Which name to give her? Not his true name, nothing that could compel him, but perhaps his lesser known name? He hadn't heard it spoken in so long he wondered if he would even respond to it. In the end, he offered her his title instead, "Battousai."

She arched a delicate brow, lips thin and nostrils flaring. It wasn't a name like she had given, but it was enough to call him by until he could trust her enough to offer another.

"I don't need your name, I need to know why the hell you abducted me." She buried her head in her hands and for a moment he thought she would cry, but she drew a quiet, shuddering breath, lowering her hands to push herself into a kneeling position. He could see her visibly swallowing her pride before forcing a plea from her mouth, and wondered what could possibly have changed her from the spitfire of last night into the young woman that grated: "Please, I don't know what you are or why you brought me here and I don't really care, but I need to go home."

Much as their fledgling bond pricked him for denying her, the only answer he offered was an immutable "No."

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End Note:

This is going to be my first long fic for this fandom but definitely not the last- concrit will always be very appreciated. (Reviews in general are appreciated, but concrit is emtreasure/em.

While this is an AU, I'd like everyone to be as in character as they can be considering the change in universe if that makes any sense. I'm also working on my "show, don't tell", so please let me know if I skew too far in any direction. Rating may increase in later chapters. It's not currently part of the plan, but just in case- Schrödinger's explicit chapters will be clearly marked.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope you enjoyed!


	2. Summons

"No?" Kaoru repeated incredulously. She wasn't sure what answer she had expected, but it certainly hadn't been that monosyllable spoken with such an air of finality she knew no amount of begging or threats would change it.

"You didn't even consider it!" She snapped, straightening up and gaining her feet. It had cost her every scrap of pride she had to kneel and plead with him and not even a second for him to dash her hopes. She shouldn't have expected anything less; why would the man, or demon, go to the trouble of spiriting her away to his lair only to release her for the sake of a pathetic request?

Kaoru had hoped against hope though. That perhaps he would ask her why, give her a chance to plead her case. He looked so human: the form of a man, and if his hair was red as flame and his eyes a shade of brass coin amber she knew she would never see the like of again, then at least she could pretend he owed those traits to foreign blood in his veins.

That had been her mistake: she had treated him as a human man, capable of reasoning like one. For a moment she had forgotten the ghastly retinue that had ridden with him on that wild hunt- the wolves with fangs longer than her forearm, eyes shining in the dark like cats and blue fire clinging to their tails. Goblins with hides ranging from the moss-green of a forest to so translucent she could see their inner workings plain as the pebbles on a riverbed, and other beasts so fantastical she couldn't put a name to them and hesitated to recall their forms.

Whatever he looked like, he was not human and she would not make the mistake of treating him like it again.

He- Battousai- hadn't risen, meeting her gaze unflinchingly from where he still knelt on the tatami floor. She forced herself not to step back, clenching and unclenching her fists in a futile effort to control her temper. Demon or not she knew he felt pain. She had felt the way he flinched when her nails tore into his flesh, and remembered with satisfaction the huff of air when her knee found a soft spot.

Battousai regarded her for a long moment, watching her face with an almost predatory attention to detail. Finally he spoke again, so solemnly Kaoru almost convinced herself she was imagining the glint of wicked humor in his gaze when he answered. "I have considered. My answer remains the same."

He stood at last and Kaoru permitted herself a single step back, just enough that she wouldn't have to tilt her head to meet his gaze. She would have fit comfortably just beneath his chin, and he stood close enough that she could have tucked herself there if she wanted to. Remembering the red thread she had seen on her finger, the way he had fixated on it just before he took her, Kaoru wanted to keep as much space between them as possible.

"I have a family!" She bit out, throat clamping on the words so that they sounded like a wounded growl.

Her eyes burned with tears she struggled to hold back. She blinked to clear them and cursed quietly when an errant few slipped free to glide unchecked down her face. She had half-raised a fist to wipe them away when she noticed his expression: stricken, like a man that had been dealt a killing blow and hadn't had the grace to die yet.

In the next moment his face was smooth as polished stone once more. Kaoru had been so busy studying the interplay of emotion on his face she hadn't even noticed that he raised a hand to brush the tears away with his sleeve. She froze in disbelief, shocked at the warmth of his skin and how easy it felt simply to hold still and let him touch her. Like a dumb animal seeking comfort in any gentle touch, she thought angrily as she finally remembered to turn her face away.

"Don't touch me." Low and threatening, the only warning she intended to give.

His hand dropped to his side again, flexing rhythmically. She swallowed tightly when his thumb found his little finger, rubbing the base as though playing with a ring- or that scarlet thread.

"I am sorry for your loss-"

 _Loss_. Her brother, her friends, the makeshift family she had built for herself after the years she had spent alone; with a handful of words he dismissed them.

"But make your peace with it. I will not let you leave."

"I'll keep trying." Kaoru was proud that her voice remained so calm, if a little strained. "Over and over until I finally escape. I don't care what you do to me, I don't care what you say, I am going home."

In some of the stories those unfortunates that had been abducted returned home. Sometimes hundreds of years later, sometimes before their family had even noticed they were gone though they had lived lifetimes among the spirits. In others they lived out the remainder of their lives with the ones that had taken them, surrounded on every side by paradise but spirit withering inside until at last their Human will succumbed and they joined the host. If there was one thing Kaoru could take pride in, it was the perseverance that had seen her through everything from her father's death to this. Her spirit wouldn't break whatever the cost, and she would return home.

All these thoughts played out in her eyes, plain as day for anyone that cared to read them, her captor included. At last he bowed, a shallow perfunctory attempt that betrayed a lack of practice, but obviously meant to be sincere. Kaoru stiffened, bracing herself for whatever came next.

"Do as you will until you are satisfied. I will not come to you again until you call for me."

"Then we should say our farewells now, because I never will."

He glanced up, molten gold eyes transfixing her as surely as if she had been bolted to the floor. "Be careful. The words you speak here carry more weight than you know."

 _I don't care_. Kaoru swallowed the words before they slipped free, gut churning with anxiety. That was another thing the stories were all very clear on: one had to speak carefully with these creatures, they had existed since before time itself and were exact in their dealings. A Human that spoke too much could unwittingly give all their treasures and secrets away.

"Leave." She whispered instead, calming somewhat when he actually turned as though to obey her.

He paused at the door and she tensed again, waiting for the finishing blow to fall; she was not disappointed. "Be careful where you wander. There are beings here even I do not cross lightly."

Then mercifully he was gone, leaving Kaoru alone in the room with only her own thoughts for company.

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"Aoshi." No sooner had the final syllable left his lips than the _nekomata_ was before him, looking thoroughly unimpressed at his summoning as per usual. Battousai was surprised at the twinge of annoyance he felt, long enough forgotten now that it felt new and almost pleasant.

"My lord." Stiff and formal, nearly a mockery of respect. Aoshi had perfected the natural insolence of his kind, but it had never interfered with his duties. He was the only one that used Battousai's title so readily, and the only one who could intone it as though he spoke to an equal.

"I want a watch set on the woman in Megumi's quarters. She is looking for trouble." She is looking for an escape."I don't want her alone." For her safety or his sanity, the reason didn't matter, not to Aoshi and certainly not to him.

In the privacy of his own mind Battousai worried at the problem; it had been easy enough to take the woman, but keeping her? She was not a pet he could lock away, not the sort of prisoner he could wear down with interrogation and deprivation. The thread about his finger felt painfully tight, the damn thing wrapped about his heart and every other fiber of his being to squeeze the life right out of him. It had only tightened as she grew more anxious, when her smoldering resentment flared back to life at his denial he'd had to clench his teeth and remind himself to ignore it. Pain was nothing new, but this was a kind of agony he had never experienced before.

Aoshi considered, gaze turning inward for seconds that soon turned into minutes that might as well have been hours as far as Battousai was concerned. Impatience too felt new. Kaoru was moving around in the quarters behind them; he could hear drawers opening, cloth shifting, light tapping that suggested she was looking for any secrets the room's usual occupant might be keeping. He was sure there were a few. Megumi had always been exceptionally secretive, even for a fox.

"I will share the duty with Soujirou."

As far as protection there was no one better suited than Soujirou unless it was himself. There was something lacking in Soujiro though, and one had only to be in the same room as he to feel its absence. Soujirou felt… hollow. As far from Kaoru's overflowing life as Battousai could imagine. Reluctantly he nodded his approval. These early days would be the most dangerous while Kaoru struggled against her fate and deliberately sought out the boundaries of his kingdom. Souji could keep her safe even there until she called for Battousai at last, a summon he was certain would be a long time in coming.

"Don't let her see you unless you must. Give her as much freedom as you can reasonably afford. If you risk your safety, you risk hers." That he would not tolerate, yet the bonds of his vow to her were wound tight enough that he could not intercede even then. He cursed himself for the impulse that had made him offer it. The memory of her relieved glance was equal parts pain and satisfaction; his promise was the beginning of trust between them whether she realized it or not.

"We will do what we must." The words didn't need to be said, but Battousai seized on the promise anyway.

In his memory there had never been such a match as this. Fate was a cruel mistress, but tying a guardian spirit to a Human girl was beyond the pale. How could they ever be equals? How was he supposed to keep his charges in check with her emotions constantly assaulting his hard-earned detachment? The bite of jealousy when she had admitted to having a family had been real enough that he would not have been surprised to find bloody fang marks. Of course she had a family. At her age, Kaoru probably had a couple children waiting for her at home; daughters whose eyes sparked with the same defiance or sons with that same proud way of holding themselves.

Worse, a husband who could even now be looking for her. Undoubtedly. Kaoru's spirit burned bright enough that it didn't take magic or preternatural senses to see it; it was an exceedingly rare quality in Humans, and one his kind had always sought in their hunts. No one would surrender her easily, even another Human who couldn't possibly recognize how very rare that spark was.

"She is already restless… and someone may come looking for her." The words burned his throat, bitter and sharp on his tongue. It wasn't easy to reach their realm, not so simple as wandering into the right shadow or dipping a toe in a deep lake, but humans had found their way in before. A handful had even found their way out again with priceless treasures in hand, but that had been before his time and none of those treasures had been solely his. Kaoru was, and he wouldn't allow even her to pry herself from his grasp.

Aoshi needed no further instruction; Battousai left him in the hall, already melting back into the shadows from whence he had come. He had duties to attend to himself, however much he might want to be here for her first steps into this world. The unpleasant feeling settling in his gut, coiling in the back of his throat until he almost wretched was fear, he realized with shock. It was a feeling he had surrendered as soon as he assumed his title, but it was seeping into him now. Someone was certainly looking for her, and with Kaoru herself seeking a way back to them it would make it far more difficult to keep her.

Battousai drew a breath, forcing his newfound fear out on an exhale. He had one more task to complete, yet another drain on his power he could ill afford at the moment, but worth it in the end if it kept her busy. He had promised to let her do as she willed, but there were ways to ensure she couldn't wander too far.

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Kaoru hesitated barely a second after the door was pulled to before exploring her erstwhile quarters. Her cell, whatever Battousai had said. In any other circumstances, she would have been enchanted. Everything around her was designed to delight and entice, all of it appointed exactly how Kaoru imagined a princess would desire. The tatami beneath her feet was ruthlessly clean and pleasantly warm, unnaturally so in direct contrast to the cool air. The futon on which she had slept was firm, its sheets… she knelt once more to rub them between her fingertips incredulously, wincing when her callouses caught on the fine silk. Silk. To sleep in.

She glanced to her left, the black-lacquered dresser just tall enough that her own face reflected back at her in a mirror so clear it could have been still water, or a blade polished to a wicked sheen. Nothing here was harmless, and she needed to remember that. She made her way to the dresser, kneeling before it to open the small drawers: tortoiseshell combs, steel hairpins with elaborate, richly colored gems of sapphire and ruby, a hairbrush so soft it would not have hurt an infant's skin.

Most of it was utterly useless, but Kaoru couldn't deny a pang of envy at the thought of the lady who could confidently wear those pins. Elegance was something foreign to her nature, but she had always admired it from afar. Carefully, with a mental apology to the owner of all these fine trinkets, she picked up a fine toothed comb. If she so much as sneezed she thought the teeth would snap, sharp as needles and every bit as slender and delicate.

Laying it aside, Kaoru reached for the brush under it, intrigued by the gleam of silver and more importantly by the almost invisible crack where the head met the handle. It looked too regular to be damage, but what manner of craftsman would deliberately include a flaw? On a whim she tugged, unsurprised when a small, thin blade slid free. Beautiful and lethal. A letter-opener at first glance, but too sharp to be anything less than a weapon.

She tucked some of the sturdier pins into her waist, but laid the knife aside; she wasn't a killer, even now. But then… there was no way for her captors to know that, and she was desperate. With a mumbled apology she snatched up the knife again, careful of its wicked edge as she slid it between the pins. Remembering Battousai's parting words though she was not about to venture outside without some sort of protection, and her own weapon was long gone.

All the drawers neatly arranged as though they had never been disturbed, Kaoru made her way to the door with steps as light as a cat's. She hovered beside the door, listening for movement or voices, but all she heard was her own rapid pulse and shallow breaths echoed back at her. That didn't mean Battousai wasn't watching, only that he was being clever about it.

Careful not to make a sound she slid the door open, glancing quickly left and right before darting into the empty corridor.

Even this place felt strangely normal. Polished oak wood gleamed up at her, lit by some unseen light. There wasn't even a scuff on it. If Yahiko had been with her- He wasn't. Thank whatever good fortune she still had that he wasn't. Kaoru resolved not to so much as think his name; who knew what powers these creatures had?

She pressed the ball of her foot down, relieved when the wood didn't creak beneath her weight. Her first impulse was to run; the corridor seemed to stretch on interminably in either direction, and she didn't know the rules of this place. Perhaps even the hallways were like time here, infinite. Left. Forcing herself to walk normally, Kaoru set off. Was she underground or above? The walls gave no indication, firm as stone beneath her hands but colored an inoffensive snowdrop white.

A ten minute jog found her standing before the door of her prison once more. Kaoru growled in annoyance, turning on her heel and setting off in the opposite direction; she had to be certain, even if the exercise ultimately proved fruitless.

It was. Though by the time she arrived at the door once more a quarter hour had passed. Spitefully she kicked the wall, immediately regretting it when pain shot from the ball of her foot to her knee. She swore loudly, steadying herself on the blasted wall to cradle her injured foot and hurl every curse imaginable at the interminable corridor and its master.

Gleeful laughter assaulted her ears, quiet but unmistakable. Kaoru froze taut as a bowstring, the snide laughter only fanning the embers of her frustration.

"Go ahead and laugh, but I don't see you showing your face." She snarled. Almost immediately the laughter stopped, leaving a silence that was far less pleasant for knowing she shared it with something else. At least she would have someone to fight if she was attacked, an obvious obstacle to overcome instead of an impenetrable riddle to solve. Kaoru had always loathed riddles, never one for word games or unsolvable puzzles. She wished she had taken the time to learn the art of them now.

"My, but you are disagreeable. A little clumsy too."

Kaoru leapt back, hands falling to the hairpins at her waist, her makeshift claws. The woman before her was as far from the fearsome demons she had seen in Battousai's retinue as anyone could be: tall and graceful, pitch black hair gleaming softly in the light, tumbling lightly down her back to her waist in striking contrast to the mauve komon she wore.

Kaoru didn't pull the blade, but she wasn't quick to lower her hand either; the woman tutted softly, combing impatient fingers through her hair, lips pursing with displeasure at Kaoru's obvious hostility. Her eyes darted to the little finger of Kaoru's hand, and for a moment her eyes lit with an interest hastily concealed.

"After sleeping in my bed and stealing my things, I think you owe me a little more courtesy than this, thief." Kaoru immediately clamped her hands before her, fighting down the beginnings of instinctive guilt. It was survival, she reminded herself. A bit of thievery was hardly repayment for an outright abduction, and she had taken only what she needed.

"It takes some spine to call me the thief when you abducted me."

A smile crept back across the woman's painted lips, amused and a little sly. Kaoru glared mutinously back, resisting the urge to shift her weight. She already knew there was nowhere to run, and for all she found the woman's smile unpleasant, she couldn't say she felt threatened by her so much as disconcerted by her sudden appearance and knowing air.

"Not I." The woman's eyes twinkled with merriment; Kaoru couldn't help but feel she was the butt of a joke she couldn't begin to comprehend. "I am as eager for you to leave here as you are."

A trap? Possibly, but still better than running herself ragged in circles."Then point me in the right direction and I'll be on my way."

The woman yawned ostentatiously, covering it with a smooth, well-manicured hand. Kaoru ignored the pang of embarrassment at her own disheveled appearance, moving her hands to clasp them behind her lest the woman see her rough, broken nails and the smattering of scars and freckles.

"Even if I did you couldn't see it." She tilted her head, holding out the insultingly perfect hand in offering, "But I'll take you where you need to go, if you like."

Kaoru eyed her open palm like it was a spitting viper, leery of taking it but desperate for even a chance at freedom.

Her companion sighed impatiently, "Come, I want you out of my room. You want out of this place. There is only one way out, and I am prepared to take you there. What do you have to lose, girl?"

"My life, for one." Battousai's warning flashed through her memory even as Kaoru tentatively began to reach for the stranger's hand.

Delighted laughter rang out again, "You have nothing to fear from _me_."

Despite herself, Kaoru believed it or maybe her hope blinded her, either way she took the hand offered, wincing with surprise when the woman clamped it in a vice-like grip. For a moment the world tumbled around her, turning every which way until Kaoru thought she might vomit. The next she stood on solid ground in a much larger hall; at least the walls no longer felt as though they were closing in on her. The tatami beneath her feet was far more worn than the room from which she had come, the cloth joining faded in places. Before them was a _fusuma_ , decorated simply with a sprawling tree set across an amber backdrop.

Kaoru could learn to hate the color. She turned to demand where they were, whether her escape could truly be as simple as this- of course the woman had vanished like she had never been. Grumbling under her breath, but wise enough not to lash out this time she laid a tentative hand on the door. If her hostess was to be believed, this was where she needed to be, and Kaoru hadn't sensed anything particularly threatening. After years fending for herself, she took pride in her instincts, and while she had found the woman's presence nerve-wracking there had been no outright malice in her.

Or so she hoped.

The door slid open quietly, gliding along waxed wood without the slightest catch. Kaoru lingered on the threshold a few seconds, letting her eyes adjust to the dimness of the room beyond.

Another room. A dead end. She huffed with annoyance but stepped inside anyway. Hadn't the woman said she couldn't see the way? What if she just hadn't been looking in the right places? This world didn't have to share the logic of her own. So she gathered her courage and stepped inside, sliding the door closed behind her again lest she be discovered.

To her right was a low desk, the cushion behind it hardly worn though it was piled high with papers and its inkstone was worn from many uses. She drifted toward it curiously; if the characters were any sort of language at all then she couldn't decipher it. None of this mattered; she needed to get home and no pile of paper or books was going to help her unless there was a conveniently printed map in any of them. She rifled through them quickly, unwilling to sacrifice even that frail hope.

No map, but she paused on a page of the only bound book in the mess, tracing a slender scarlet thread with her finger that wound around one of the foreign words and draped down the page to twine about the figure of a man. Kaoru's gut clenched; she had seen such a string before, wrapped about her smallest finger. Her neck hairs prickled with dread. Anyone might be interested in such a fanciful story, but the way these papers were arranged, the room around her that was so devoid of any personal touch all suggested this was meant to be a serious study, not some scholar's leisurely hide-away for enjoying children's stories.

Who else but her would suddenly be interested in such a phenomenon? Kaoru made an educated guess: "Battousai."

Instantly he was there, so close he would have stumbled over her if she hadn't leapt back. Damn, she had called his name after all, and apparently appearing from nowhere was a skill he shared with his woman.

"How did you-" He cut off, effortlessly catching the book Kaoru had hurled in her surprise and snapping the cover closed sternly.

"How did you find this place?" He finished with a growl that had Kaoru reaching for a weapon- only they was gone. Frantically she patted herself: hairpins, knife, everything gone. The woman. The woman whose name she didn't even know. Her room, her weapons, all of them neatly reacquired and Kaoru none the wiser. Leaving her alone and unarmed in what her captor obviously considered a forbidden domain.

"Your lady brought me." She snapped, edging behind the desk for lack of any better defense. The papers, the inkstone, the desk, her bare hands; none of them seemed promising against a creature who carried his sword at his waist like its weight had become a part of him.

"My lady?" For a split second Kaoru swore she saw confusion flit across his face. Then he muttered a name under his breath, though it sounded more like a curse. She gave silent thanks as he finally looked away long enough for her to draw a deep breath.

"She and I both agree I don't belong here." Kaoru added caustically, courage returning with every moment he didn't fly at her sword bared for daring to invade his sanctum.

"Megumi is not my lady." There was an undercurrent of dry amusement in the words, though Kaoru couldn't share in it. "But since you two have found so much in common, perhaps you would like to keep her for a companion. Call on her whenever you like." The quirk of his lips might have been the beginning of a smile, but it shared none of the typical warmth of that expression, only the sort of satisfaction she had seen on the faces of cats when they had finally caught their unfortunate prey.

Kaoru swallowed tightly, "I don't want a companion." She spat the word hatefully, Megumi's betrayal still a bitter taste in her mouth.

Battousai relaxed, bending to lay the book on the desk without caring that his furious captive stood near enough to bash him over the head if she dared. Her fingers twitched reflexively, but he straightened before she gave in to the useless impulse.

Slowly Kaoru backed away from the desk. If she could leave the room without him following her, it would give her a chance to find the path that had led her here. Or, more importantly, a way out. Megumi had said there was only one, and that it was here beyond the door, but either she had been lying or Kaoru hadn't explored enough to find it yet.

"Why would you ask Megumi to bring you here?" Battousai's voice was mild, no edge of anger to it, but Kaoru flinched anyway. She didn't want to admit that she had no idea where 'here' was or that she hadn't so much asked as been tricked into it. So far Megumi was her only frail chance of getting anywhere but her room, and the last thing she wanted to do was alert him that she'd had help.

"I told you I'd keep looking for a way out."

"And your search led you to my quarters." Voice thick with disbelief, he stared her down.

His quarters. Megumi had led her right into the belly of the beast. Words deserted her and she gaped mutely at him.

"You are welcome in my rooms, but it's the last place I expected you to summon me."

He considered for a second, stepped closer, side-stepping the desk. Kaoru immediately stopped her retreat, unwilling to cede even a single footstep lest he think she was intimidated. "I didn't mean to."

"I warned you to watch your words." Cool and matter-of-fact. Another step closer too, but Kaoru didn't quail from him. "Be more careful in the future."

He held out a hand and Kaoru froze rigid, half-expecting him to touch her again. Instead he waited patiently, hand extended palm up, waiting for her to take it.

"I'll take you to your room." He offered, unmoving.

Kaoru stepped away and to the side. No way was she going back to the beginning when she had already come this far.

"I don't want to go back to _Megumi's_ room. I thought you said I was welcome in yours?"

His brow wrinkled, the beginning of a frown gathering about his lips as his hand dropped to his side once more. "She won't bother you again unless-"

"Then I'm not welcome here?" Kaoru finished, "After you promised I was. After you said I could do what I wanted."

Battousai shrugged, and the unthinking grace of the gesture had her hackles rising again. "You said you would never call for me again."

"It was an accident." She snapped.

"You also said you were going home, and now you want to stay in this room? You won't find your escape here."

"I don't believe you." Kaoru folded her arms defensively, fixing him with a defiant glare.

He met her eyes squarely but she couldn't read the expression in his gaze; her breath caught in her throat, the silence almost a living thing between them.

"Stay then." He turned his back on her dismissively, gliding to the _fusuma_ across the room and pulling it open just enough to slip through before pushing it to again.

She was alone in his study, far from her cell with no one to watch her. Exactly what she had wanted, yet she couldn't help but feel she had lost whatever game they had been playing. For a few seconds more she waited, but he showed no sign of re-emerging. She had the room to herself, and wasted no time in beginning her exploration.

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Battousai wasn't sure which he wanted more: a fox-skin banner for his hunt or to shower Megumi in all the pretty, exotic baubles she so prized in gratitude.

Kaoru had called for him by name mere hours after assuring him she never would. She had found her way into his rooms on her first night in his realm, had chosen to stay even when he offered to return her to her own. It had cost him dearly to offer her that escape when she had finally wandered precisely where he had hoped to coax her with his labyrinthine blind, but now she stayed here, convinced it had been her own idea.

His burden had not rested so lightly on him in more years than he could count.

The string wound about his finger no longer felt as though it was cutting into his skin, trying in vain to pull them near again. She trusted him, not much, just enough to believe he wouldn't attack her and not so much that she noticed it herself, but enough that the jagged edge of pain had dulled. He envied her the blindness that protected her from that even as he gave quiet thanks for it.

If she learned even half of what he had poring over those old manuscripts scattered across the desk he wasn't certain he could ever have lured her near him again. Though of course their fate would have demanded it.

Now that she had demanded to stay though, he had no intention of offering her another way out again. She would be safe here, behind some of his nastier wards that he would set whenever he had to leave, careful not to catch an unwitting and too curious human. Aoshi could still stand guard, and Soujiro when he needed rest, Megumi would keep her company whether she wanted to or not.

Of course Kaoru couldn't fault him for wandering his own quarters, couldn't object to sharing the space.

Even, perhaps, a meal.

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Well this should have been out months ago. Apologies, but I thought I would stop at the second draft. This is the fourth. I'm still trying to work on description, and characterization will always be a concern. Concrit is as always welcomed and appreciated!

And thank you everyone for the lovely reviews. I see I left a few unanswered; I frequently get lost in my own little world, so if there are any questions/concerns please feel free to PM.

That aside, I'm going to try not to sprinkle Japanese everywhere but some words just seem to work better without the translation. A 'Fusuma' is a room divider, sometimes painted with still-lifes or other designs. There are several nifty articles on Japan-Talk if anyone wants to check them out.

Next chapter: Meals are shared, Aoshi is annoyed, Megumi is plotting and Kaoru explores her world.


	3. Breaking Bread

Stubbornness he had expected, even a complete disregard for self-preservation, but after two days of Kaoru coming and going, declining every sumptuous meal he laid out, pointedly leaving his rooms to wander whenever he made to lay out his futon, Battousai was beginning to wonder if she had a death wish. Not that he had suggested as much to her; she hadn't said a word to him since their confrontation. He was interested to see how much longer she could keep up that icy silence since Aoshi had privately reported that her blistering diatribes were growing more scathing by the hour.

Aoshi gave no sign of annoyance, but Battousai could feel it in the room with them almost like another person. "She hasn't found her way outside yet, but it is only a matter of time." He finished, gaze flicking out to the hall.

Battousai's eyes followed his, but lost in his thoughts it took him a moment to reply: "How long can they go without sleep?"

Aoshi's silence was answer enough; neither of them knew enough about Humans to guess, but Kaoru seemed ragged around the edges. It couldn't be much longer.

"She's coming." Battousai straightened eagerly as Aoshi vanished from sight. Some latent instinct warned him Kaoru was making straight for him this time.

She rounded the corner from the hall, shoulders back and fists swinging at her sides. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the fusuma gaped open, honing in on his form immediately. If pressed Battousai would admit that he had taken to making himself scarce whenever he knew she was looking for him, trying in vain to coax her into calling for him again. Unfortunately she had taken his last lesson to heart and was far more careful with the names she spoke now.

"Battousai." Temper. She gritted his title out like the foulest curse yet he was glad she had spoken it again at last. She threw herself down in front of him, graceless, unconcerned that her limbs sprawled everywhere, not noticing that she sat much nearer to him than she had dared before.

"Yes, Kaoru?" He hadn't tired of saying her name either though it still vexed her to hear it. He lifted the stone pot that was just out of arm's reach, pouring scalding tea into an earthenware cup. He didn't miss the way she swallowed longingly. She wouldn't touch it though, even when he set it so near he was sure she could feel the heat radiating from it.

The unexpected gesture had caught her off guard; Kaoru fumbled to hold onto her thoughts, too tired, too hungry to concentrate. "Are you trying to kill me or would it be a happy accident?"

Not quite as cutting as she had meant it to be, but it was hard to be demanding when she could smell the divine floral scent of whatever tea he had poured into the cup. Her stomach rumbled accusingly and Kaoru fidgeted to cover the sound. It seemed like every time she spoke to Battousai he always had food or drink to hand: grilled fish whose scent crept into every corner of the room, green apples that crunched temptingly with every bite, savory broths that he sipped languidly to enjoy the taste. Even the smell of tea was giving her a vicious headache, throat tightening with need.

Kaoru shoved the cup back at him, not caring that it sloshed over the sides to burn her hand. She brushed it off on her clothes hurriedly, so frustrated she half-regretted not hurling it into the face of her tormentor. That, like everything else she had tried over the past couple days, would have proved both useless and self-destructive.

"No." His stunning nonchalance in the face of the accusation was the final straw.

The last of Kaoru's self control buckled and she grabbed the cup near her, turning to hurl it across the room before pinning him with her accusatory gaze once more. He didn't react beyond an arched brow, as if to say "Is that all?"

Damn him. What the hell had she thought there was to gain by screaming at him anyway? If anything, she had given him exactly what he wanted by breaking her silence long enough to call his name, even in fury. Every trap he set for her, she fell into. Every maze he built she ran like a prize beetle. Now somehow she had fallen into a snare of her own making, and she blamed that on him too.

"Kaoru."

Her head shot up, bloodshot eyes meeting his fearlessly. She was worrying her lip, he noticed, wetness gathering in her eyes that she would never allow to turn to tears. Kaoru was tearing herself apart, but she would never believe him if he told her he hated to see it. Worse yet, she might use it against him; he was beginning to think raw spite had kept her on her feet since she had first woken in his realm.

"You need rest and food."

"How dare you." Kaoru snapped. Then, because it had felt good to finally say the words she had been thinking since the moment he first laid hands on her, she soldiered on, warming to her theme. "I have had it with running your mazes and dodging your traps-"

"None of which were meant for you." For the first time since she had woken in this strange lair his eyes were narrowed squarely on her. No more pretense of being distracted, too engrossed in his papers to notice when she entered the room. Too busy with his eerie chants and scrawled symbols to see her creeping in. All of his attention focused on her.

"You are so smug! So sure you have me cornered, but I am not a fool and whether you mean to kill me or not, that is precisely what you are going to do if you don't let me go!"

She wanted to shake him until his teeth rattled, wipe the calm ever-assessing look from his face. At first Kaoru had worried about angering him, but she would have taken pure fury over his indifference after days of slinking around his damned realm like a frightened kitten.

"If you will not eat, I will feed you, and if you will not sleep you can be made to." She heard the softest growl beneath the words, a genuine threat, and finally saw a flicker of something warm in his gaze. Not a kind or gentle warmth, but definitely something alive. A feeling she could relate to at last.

"I will _choke_. I will sleep and never wake." The how was unimportant; Kaoru was so carried away with her righteous temper she forgot a crucial detail. Only to have it thrown in her face with a few cruel words.

"And leave your family behind?" Voice deceptively soft, Battousai whispered a word and the discarded cup flew to his hand. He set it before her again, pouring another steaming cup. Another soft word as he brushed his hand across the tatami and water stains were dry. "Do not make idle threats."

Her words. Kaoru swallowed. Swallowed again because she was so thirsty and watching him bring his own cup to his lips and swallow was the surest form of torture he could have devised whether he knew it or not.

"You said you were going to escape." He continued once he had finished, and there was enough of a bite in his tone that Kaoru knew he was not indifferent no matter what he pretended. "You promised you would not stop until you had found a way to leave. Have you lost your resolve?"

"No." Kaoru refused to wilt under his stare, forcing herself to sit up and meet him glare for glare. "No." She repeated, just because she liked the sound of it.

He softened almost imperceptibly, "Then you must eat, drink-" He reached out to pointedly push the cup a little closer, "And sleep."

Kaoru was silent a few seconds longer, locking eyes with him as though she could bend him to her will through sheer stubbornness. He was grateful for the frigid silence and stony stare. If she had asked him sweetly for the moon he would have found a way to get it for her. If she had spoken his name in tones other than fury he would have woven the stars into her hair. For the first time he was glad that she had done neither of these things. Concerned as he was for her, Battousai had no way of knowing what he would have done if she had asked to go home.

He had the feeling it might have broken him. Idly he played with the thread about his finger, tight and reassuring. The thread bound them and he had her name, after all. It wasn't his nature though- she didn't belong in her world. She belonged here, with him, in the place he could never afford to leave for long.

Her face crumpled and he thought she would cry, but the next moment her lips curled once more with contempt. "Shall I damn myself to an eternity here in exchange for-" She sneered at the cup despite the way her throat clenched, "A cup of tea?"

Battousai blinked slow and cat-like while he pondered her words and what they revealed. The distrust between them was deeper even than he had expected. "I have no need to resort to cheap trickery. You are already here, and have yet to find your escape."

Kaoru considered his words before finally reaching out and downing the cup in a swift gulp, impulsive as ever. He admired her courage, though he didn't think she would care to hear it.

She braced herself like she was waiting for a blow, shoulders set and hands clenched on the cup. She had to have burnt her tongue, but that was the least of her fears. Finally she relaxed when he didn't jump up to crow his victory or admit that he had caught her in another trap.

"I'll eat." Kaoru conceded graciously. Battousai took a quick sip of his tea to hide the smile at her conciliatory tone, like it was she doing him a favor rather than her own hunger forcing her hand. "But I'm not sleeping in your room. Or your woman's."

"She's not my woman." Battousai corrected again with just a hint of asperity. "Megumi is many things, but not my lady, woman, wife or lover."

Kaoru shrugged eloquently, "It's not my concern."

"It is." Yet another misunderstanding to widen the gulf between them, another factor in the distance that made the thread clinch painfully tight. This was an argument they could not finish today. What he could tend to, he must. "You may sleep in this room, I will take another." He tried not to dwell on the satisfaction it gave him to know she would be resting in his chambers, protected by his enchantments among his most precious belongings.

"I don't want your room." She folded her arms, haughty and unbending; the effect was ruined when her stomach growled loud enough to startle her into a blush. "But," she continued smoothly, "We can tend to that once we've eaten."

"Of course." He lost the battle and the smile that spread across his lips was wide enough that he felt his muscles struggle to accommodate the unaccustomed expression. Fortunately, eyes focused doggedly on the teapot as she poured herself another cup, Kaoru didn't notice.

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Kaoru's obvious reluctance melted away when he finally set the food before her: _unagi don_ and steaming heaps of rice she was reaching for before it even left his hand, every kind of sweet she had ever glanced enviously at while he ate, and enough of the hot tea to sate even her thirst. She pounced, reservations abandoned, as soon as he stepped away. The silence was filled with the sound of Kaoru's pleased murmurs, the clack of chopsticks against a recently emptied bowl while she chased the last few grains of rice and hums of contentment at each new dish her grasping hands found.

Battousai didn't join her until he was certain she had eaten her fill, eating sparingly where Kaoru had devoured everything in sight. She caught sight of him and deliberately slowed her pace, meeting his eyes across the small table between them.

"Where will I sleep?"

She pretended to be only casually interested, but now that she was pleasantly full Battousai could see the sleep pulling at her eyes. He hadn't realized how much her weariness had begun to wear on him until he felt the flood of relief at the thought of her finally relaxing enough to sleep.

"Yes." He finished off the last of his rice, letting the thought dangle there like a thread before a cat.

Kaoru did not disappoint: "So where will I sleep?" She said peevishly, another scowl gathering on her face.

"Next to me."

She growled at him and Battousai thrilled to the sound, if only because they were speaking, because he was finally starting to see some of the fire her eyes had been promising for days.

"The hell I will! _Meg_ -"

He cut her off with a low hiss before she could finish the name, "Yes. In a room I will prepare."

Kaoru quirked a brow, fuming but silent. It amazed him that she hadn't slipped into a doze where she sat, but willfulness and pride were qualities she possessed in almost inhuman measure.

"Prepare it now or I will just have to take Megumi's room. And send her to yours." A smirk, small but knowing.

"Oh? I thought you would not sleep in my woman's room."

"I thought she wasn't your woman." Kaoru countered.

If he pressed, he thought he could keep her in his rooms. She had won something of a victory today now that she no longer feared eating the food in his realm and he could see the renewed confidence in the way she held herself. Freedom felt like it was within her reach, and if he was clever then he could convince her to cede a battle to win the war. He wanted her to stay near; perhaps if she did he too could sleep easy for the first time in years. But she wanted a room of her own, and everything in him urged him to give her what she wanted so long as he could keep her…

There was a way for both of them to have their victory.

"Come." He stood quickly, and with an annoyed huff Kaoru followed. They left his room, but not far- across the hall where the walls were adorned with no more than a few hanging scrolls. He couldn't resist showing off a little, rolling up his voluminous sleeves, pressing his palm to the wall and willing it to obey him as every thing here must.

Kaoru gasped behind him, a sound that was lost amongst shifting, creaking wood. Before him stood a simple door… and beyond it a small room, not so sumptuous that Kaoru would be tempted to stay there indefinitely, but comfortable enough that the time she spent there before rejoining him wouldn't be a trial.

"You may stay here as long as you like." He stepped away, "Though you're always welcome in my rooms."

It was a mark of how tired she was that Kaoru didn't even protest as she pushed past him and into the room. She threw herself down on the futon, asleep almost before she hit the fabric.

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Kaoru roused slowly, limbs still almost too heavy to move and head swimming with the effort of sitting up. She didn't feel sick any more though, and the warmth around her was a welcome cocoon from the chill of the room. Battousai's room had been warmer, but it hadn't been the temperature that made her want to leave rather the company she'd had to share it with.

She was begrudgingly grateful for the meal, but it would have taken a regiment of torturers to make her admit it. He could have worn her down farther, could have kept her starving and weak. She wondered what game he was playing since he had chosen not to. It was a struggle, but she forced herself to get up. Between the food and the sleep her strength was returning and with it her determination to get out. Having seen how Battousai had shaped this room with no more than a thought and a minute she had some insight into how the place had been confounding her at every corner.

How knowing would benefit her she hadn't worked out yet, but it was another piece of the puzzle solved. She stepped out with purpose only to leap back in as the hall floor squeaked under her feet. Wary, she stepped out lightly, and the floor still screeched at the contact. A nightingale floor where once it had been solid and silent. Kaoru glared at the room across the hall, willing the occupant within to step out and explain himself.

If she wanted to speak to him, she had but to call his name. Kaoru refused.

She struck out across the hall, gritting her teeth against the noise. If Battousai wanted to know her comings and goings he was welcome; she had never been anything less than honest in her intentions.

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A.N. Next chap: Kaoru goes home.

This is a shorter chapter because I have no clue how long the next will end up being and it's been long enough since I updated ^.^;

That said, whatever length it is Kaoru is going home so we can get this show on the road!

Also, nightingale floors are about the coolest thing I have ever seen architecture-wise. The sound can vary from floor to floor, but my personal favorite is the one that pops up the first result on YT if you type in "Nightingale floor sound"


	4. The Road Home

A.N. You uh. You might wanna grab a glass of water and a snack. This one weighs in around 10,000 words, but I kept my word. :)

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The fourth time Kaoru woke in her new room she noticed the flower: night-blooming jasmine. It wasn't blooming, but that meant nothing at all without any sunlight. She quickly bundled up her futon and crawled over to the flower, fingers playing through the leaves. She had no way of knowing how long it had been since she had seen green, growing things.

She suspected it was meant for a gift; those had been appearing every day since she had demanded her own room. A deep scarlet tie for her hair made of the softest material she had ever felt, a flowing kimono with an _itomaki mon_ pattern. A red thread wove in and out in spiraling waves from the hem to twine about the scattered red and white camellias. Kaoru ignored them; she was sure they had some meaning, but she had never had time for all the subtle intricacies of patterns or flowers.

This flower was her latest gift.

Every other gift she had deposited outside the door and it had been gone by the time she woke again. She lifted the flower to do the same, but couldn't bring herself to leave it. Who knew how much longer she would be here? Having something in her room to remind her of the world outside was already lifting her spirits.

Kaoru set it against the center wall where she would see it as soon as she entered the room and dressed before heading out.

The nightingale floor chirped beautifully beneath her feet no matter how she adjusted her weight or angled her steps. There had to be a way to silence or at least muffle the sound, but she hadn't found the trick of it yet. She had nothing but time to learn.

Battousai's chambers were closed to her as they usually were throughout the day. Or night. Kaoru wondered where he spent his hours, wondered why he looked so weary whenever he joined her for supper. He never volunteered to tell her, and she had never asked. She tried her hardest not to speak over supper at all, and sometimes he obliged her.

Perversely she _hated_ it. He could eat in peace, unaffected by her plight and thoroughly unconcerned that she was glaring daggers at him from a mere arm's length away. She wasn't a threat, and she hadn't found a way to leave, between her room and the food her needs were seen to; he could afford to rest on his laurels and wait for her to come to him every time. At least it was teaching her to curb her unruly tongue that had so often landed her in hot water.

Her stay had been educational in more ways than one, but Kaoru was certain she would rather have remained ignorant her entire life than have to live through the last handful of days again.

!

!

"Open." Kaoru muttered, pressing against the wall with all her might, imagining the wall opening like a door to let her out.

Nothing.

"Move." Stillness.

"Do _something_ you useless lump!" She had repeated the experiment in every part of the building, wall after wall after wall until she saw them in her dreams. Whatever magic Battousai called, it wouldn't leap to do her bidding.

She put her back to the wall and sank down on her heels, breathing deep and trying not to lose her temper again. Sometimes she thought she heard laughter echoing just behind her, usually at her expense. Kaoru was at the end of her tether, and just about ready to call for Megumi and try striking another bargain.

What could she have that the fox would covet though? She had her own room now, and Megumi had liberated all her pretty trinkets. Briefly Kaoru considered stealing one of those hairpins again, pressing it to the delicate skin of the woman's throat and demanding her help…That might yet be her only way out, but it was a bluff and she was sure Megumi would know it. Which left her with nothing to do but wander aimlessly, testing every wall and floor for a weakness she could exploit until the headache behind her eyes became a constant companion.

Yet no matter how far she roamed Kaoru had to return to _his_ rooms to eat. The sumptuous meals laid out before her were unlike anything she would have been able to afford at home, and she hated Battousai all the more every time she caught herself enjoying it. Today her explorations held a new urgency though; last night, as she had picked through the fruit laid before them, Battousai had very quietly cautioned her away from the peaches.

She had pulled her hand away as if stung, appetite deserting her in the blink of an eye. After all his assurances that the food was safe, to have it brought home once more that she was _never_ safe had been too much. So. She needed to find a way home. Now.

A heavy sigh escaped her, and with it a name: "Megumi."

The fox was before her in a flash, tail bristling and eyes flashing with offense. Good. Kaoru was tired of being the only angry one here, tired of her temper being treated like a child's tantrum.

"You _dare_." Megumi sounded annoyed more than angry, a pure white tail flicking behind her like an offended cat's, snowy ears pinned to dark hair. Kaoru wished she could pretend it was the strangest thing she had seen in her forays, but the wall scroll that had hissed and flown away at her approach claimed that honor. After being dragged from her path home by a demon, Kaoru hadn't managed more than a shocked gasp.

"There's a way to make sure I don't dare again." Kaoru offered cheekily.

Megumi deflated, hands settling on her hips in a way that reminded Kaoru of the stern mothers at market, watching their children with eagle eyes. Compared to everything else here she _was_ a child, Kaoru thought despairingly.

"If it involves showing you the way out, Battousai would have my hide. You have nothing to offer me that could tempt me enough to defy him." She arched a brow, "Do you?"

"Do I?" Kaoru perked up, but Megumi's expression was answer enough; a cruel trick in a strange world already full of them.

"There comes a time to accept your fate and adapt to it." Megumi's voice took on the gentlest tone Kaoru had heard since she arrived, unfortunately the words were nothing that she wanted to hear, "That time is now."

"Not likely." Kaoru blew her bangs out of her face.

"Then why summon me?" Annoyance again. Megumi didn't care for being anyone's lackey, let alone some Human slip of a girl.

"I thought I would be in danger here."

"You are. But this," Megumi tapped her foot on the wooden floor, "Is your fortress. Venture to the wrong part of it and you'll make a decent meal for something, venture outside and you might find someone even Battousai wouldn't cross lightly. Stay where he's put you and…" Megumi gestured to the air with a bored expression.

"Is there a way out?" Megumi had no reason to tell her the truth, but Kaoru got the sense she was more of an impartial observer. Foxes were mischievous spirits after all. Perhaps for her own sake she would offer some answers.

Megumi pursed her lips, "Yes, but you won't find it like this."

"Like what?"

"Following the paths he set for you. All the charming little walkways, the baubles and pictures and pretty things to draw your eye. You're looking, but you're not paying attention."

 _Of course._

Kaoru leapt to her feet again, "Thank you!"

"Tut-" Megumi grabbed for her collar before she could run off, this time armed and prepared with the secret she had learned. "Thank me by taking a bath." She wrinkled her nose, "Our sense of smell is much more sensitive than yours, and you're beginning to offend."

Following Megumi with as much docility as she had shown since waking in a demon's kingdom, Kaoru tucked that information away for later.

!

!

Lounging against the wall outside the bathing room, Aoshi waited patiently for Megumi to emerge. He descended as soon as the door slid shut behind her, hiding him from the Human woman's eyes.

"What are you plotting, Megumi?" It wasn't usually his custom to demand answers; he far preferred to carry out his orders efficiently and with as little chatter as possible, but it hadn't escaped his notice that she had been tailing Kaoru the same as he and Soujirou. For Megumi to notice anyone outside her sphere of influence was an unusual thing indeed. He would be remiss in his duties if he didn't learn why.

"Would you prefer I hadn't offered a bath?"

Each morning Kaoru had awoken to a new _yukata_ laid beside her bed, and each morning she had dutifully donned it, grouching about her _hakama_ even as her palms smoothed continuously over the soft cotton garment. She had a weakness for pretty things, for soft things. Once Aoshi had told him of it, Battousai had carefully recrafted their surroundings for her.

Once barren walls now bore hanging scrolls. Dark corridors were bathed in bright firelight, and her room had acquired a few flowers overnight. Aoshi paid her the respect of leaving her alone in her room, so he had yet to see whether she cared for it. Bathing was something they had all overlooked. Judging from the sound of splashing and pleased hums, it was exactly the tack they should have taken to begin with.

"She is not your charge."

"Battousai made me her companion." Megumi combed long, well-tended nails through her hair, smirking as Aoshi's eyes unwittingly followed them. He had made the unfortunate acquaintance of her claws on their first meeting and still had a healthy respect for them.

Her expression turned serious the next moment, mercurial as ever. "You're keeping watch certainly, but you've done a poor job of taking care of her. She is Battousai's mate; I won't tolerate any harm coming to him for her sake."

Aoshi acknowledged the justice in the rebuke with a shallow dip of his head. Megumi's loyalty was unimpeachable if occasionally unorthodox; she was a fox, and they made allowances for her troublesome nature.

He couldn't resist a barb of his own, though. She had pricked him enough times to earn it. "Do you think she wants your pity, or are you assuaging your own conscience?"

Megumi flinched minutely, but didn't dignify the question with an immediate response.

"Boorish as always, I see." Her smile returned, a touch brittle but still genuine. Megumi had learned to shoulder the weight of her sins mortal lifetimes ago and had nearly made her peace with them. "Sanctimoniousness doesn't agree with you. The brooding, however…"

Megumi looked him up and down in an insolent assessment. "It suits you rather well."

She smiled with a hint of fang and Aoshi was powerless to keep his face from relaxing into lines of satisfaction. Megumi and he could usually be found at each other's throats, but she was always a worthy opponent.

"Are you really planning to take her outside?" He would need to bring Soujirou along just in case. Battousai had said the _yokai_ he kept along the fringe of his barrier were getting restless; they felt a Human's energy and were powerless to resist the pull. He divided his time between shoring up their defenses and rebuilding the ruins Shishio had left with his passing.

He hardly had any time to worry about mending the splintered factions in their own world, let alone protecting a woman from another, but that was the hand fate had dealt him and Aoshi did what he could to shoulder the latter burden.

"Not far. I won't teach her how to find it, but this is her home now." Megumi's gaze hardened. "She'll have to learn something of it. You can't neglect your first duty forever."

Aoshi nodded his agreement, but when Megumi conjured a _yukata_ and ducked back into the bathing room, he took the opportunity to report it to his lord.

!

!

!

"Outside." The seal he had been at such pains to craft began to fade and Battousai hurriedly spoke his word of power again, forcing it back to blazing life.

Working from the center out in all directions, he had yet to completely repair the barriers between his own world and Kaoru's. Since he had brought her back that had become a priority. There would always be cracks here and there, no barrier could ever be complete, but it would have been irresponsible to leave a gaping wound where any mere Human could trickle through and sow chaos.

Aoshi didn't speak again until Battousai turned from his work, carefully concealing the simile of the landscape from his gaze. Aoshi had given his loyalty, and Battousai had bound him to the promise, but they had all learned that the price of even an unwitting betrayal was steep. Battousai could count on one fist the people that had seen his simile and knew all the realms as well as he; he wanted to keep it that way.

"I have been meaning to take her myself." The time had gotten away from him, locked up in his rooms day after day with nothing but supper with Kaoru to mark the passing of time.

He wanted to tell Aoshi no, he could not take her. He wanted to see Kaoru's first glimpse of his world, was even looking forward to finding out how she intended to escape. She was growing restless again in between her hours of despondency where she cursed him and everything like him while she knocked on the walls looking for secrets.

She had even begun trying to command his home, demanding that every wall and _tatami_ mat bend to her will. She had the willfulness for it, he was sure, but she still didn't have the sight. Battousai glanced to the thread on his finger; Kaoru had asked for her a room away from him and he had created it. She had wanted him away from her and he had offered her his word that he would only come when she summoned him.

"No. That is my privilege." There was a limit to his generosity and he had found it.

"I will tell Megumi-"

"Where is Kaoru now?"

"The bath."

 _Bath_. Battousai sighed quietly. Another failing on his part. He was glad he had chosen to put Kaoru in Megumi's rooms her first day, glad that he had made Megumi her companion. He was so tired lately he had forgotten even such a common courtesy.

"I will go to her. You are excused." He made the decision on the spur of the moment, dowsing the slim thread of his power to dissolve the simile. "Take Megumi with you."

"And Soujirou?"

Battousai considered a few seconds, "We will not need him."

Aoshi bowed, lips pursing as he struggled not to smirk. Jealousy was an emotion all their kind was well-acquainted with. Except Battousai. Until now.

!

!

Kaoru ducked her head under the steaming hot water, enjoying the way her hair splayed around her in the water. Clean, fed, rested. She felt human again and even that thought didn't chill her blood the way it would have elsewhere. She surfaced, sucking in a breath and relaxing against the back of the tub.

Maybe, and it was a very thin maybe, not all _yokai_ were as wicked as she had thought. Megumi, for instance, was turning out to be quite decent whatever her proud airs. Battousai. He had fed her at least, had spared her whatever traps the peaches concealed, and despite staying up each night waiting for the inevitable knock he had treated her room as though it was hers alone and never trespassed.

Save for their meals she hadn't seen him, but he _did_ insist on taking those meals together. At first she had rebuffed every attempt at conversation, but he was nothing if not persistent. He pried into every corner of her life, and Kaoru allowed it if only because she hoped to kindle some sympathy in him.

If she had he gave no sign of it and her search had still proved fruitless.

A knock on the door and she ducked beneath the water again, hands flying to her chest and knees tucked in. It was only Megumi, returning with yet another _yukata_. Kaoru blew frustrated bubbles in the water; she wanted her own clothes back. The fabric here was so soft against her skin, the colors so vibrant… like everything else it tempted and beckoned her fingers to touch.

"Soak much longer and you will turn into a prune."

Kaoru blew bubbles in the water, declining to answer..

Megumi rolled her eyes. "The sooner you climb out, the sooner I will take you _outside_."

Facade of indifference forgotten, Kaoru sat up. "You'll take me out?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Why? I thought you said nothing could tempt you. Won't _he_ have your hide?" Clever fox. What manner of game was she playing now?

"I said I would take you outside. I never said I would let you go, or even out of my sight." Megumi sniffed, "I know where my loyalties lie, and it's certainly not…" Megumi eyed her skin, flushed from the hot water, the tangled hair not yet combed and the way Kaoru defensively hunched in the bath. "With you."

Kaoru snorted indelicately, grabbing for the linen Megumi had left her and stepping out of the bath, stiff with offended dignity. "May I dress privately at least?" She snapped waspishly.

Smiling her secretive smile, Megumi laid the _yukata_ at her feet and left Kaoru to her own devices.

!

Megumi froze just outside the threshold, sliding the door to behind her as an afterthought. Before her stood Battousai, and beside him his ever faithful lap dog. Megumi shot a speaking glance at Aoshi before meeting Battousai's eyes.

He spoke before she could, "You're dismissed, Megumi. Stay with Aoshi while we are away."

" _We_?" Megumi's eyes widened. "You will take the girl, then?"

"I thought you meant to take her outside for a kindness." Battousai's voice dipped to dangerous register Megumi hadn't heard since the last days of the war, sharp as his blade. "Or did you mean to force my hand?"

Megumi hissed with annoyance, "Every day she prowls the halls pushing and prodding. I hear her footsteps all through the night, and I am not the only one tired of it."

Aoshi shifted tellingly.

"As long as you keep her inside nothing will change. It's too like a prison and she cannot live in a _cell_ the rest of her days. I only thought to take her out for a while, show her the world. It would ease her restlessness. She might learn a thing or two."

"It was a good thought." Battousai conceded, "But not your place to decide."

"Well, and did you not tell me I was her companion? Is this not something a companion should do?"

"I will choose my words more carefully next time." Battousai said shortly, plainly done with the discussion.

The door clattered open and Kaoru strode out, "Are we-" She stumbled over thin air when she noticed the man before her, wide eyes flying to Megumi in disbelief.

Megumi smiled thinly, her face struggling to hold the expression, "I will take my leave, my lord. Aoshi?"

They vanished in a flash of white hot fire and Kaoru recoiled from the heat though it didn't singe her.

Taken aback, Kaoru couldn't do more than gape open-mouthed at where the fox had stood. Until the demon before her shifted, frustratingly unperturbed by the whole affair.

"It's too soon for supper." Kaoru's brows drew together in a scowl, "Did you think you would catch me in the bath?"

"I thought you wanted to go outside once you had finished. If I was mistaken…"

"No!" Kaoru cleared her throat, trying for a softer tone, "No, but I thought you wouldn't let me."

"Not alone." There was a playful undercurrent to his tone, something inviting her to share in his amusement though she was sure she was the butt of the joke.

Kaoru's expression hardened. "Oh? Then we're just going to stroll outside together after _days_ of you keeping me in here like a trapped rat."

"Yes." He offered her his hand, palm up and welcoming. Kaoru was tempted to smack it away, but the tilt of his head said he expected her to do just that. But the gesture was a familiar one- he meant to take her outside just as Megumi had taken her to his rooms the first day of her captivity.

She seized on it like a lifeline, clenching her eyes shut… and opening them again to a twilit landscape of dying grass and stunted, barren trees.

She thought she heard Battousai catch his breath beside her, his grip loosening before her clenched her hand tight enough that she swore she could feel her bones grinding together.

"Let go!" Kaoru yanked roughly and surprisingly he obeyed without protest. She cradled her hand to her chest, glowering at him, "There's no need to _hurt_ me." She growled.

"I never meant to." He blinked a few times as though disoriented himself, thumb playing with his littlest finger again. "I'm sorry."

Kaoru could have choked on her tongue. He had unapologetically abducted and imprisoned her, refused to return her to her home and family, but he was sorry for crushing her hand. She didn't say the words; it would only have been a variation of things she had said to him over supper again and again, and would have just about the same effect she was certain.

She was outside at last and she wasn't going to waste her precious freedom arguing in circles.

!

!

Battousai couldn't remember the last time he had seen anything but unending night here- even the moon itself forever stuck in its darkest phase and only the stars to cast pitiful light. The world around him now could have been any summer's evening; the sky was cast in shades of periwinkle and peach, a slender quarter moon on the horizon and the occasional star.

He wondered if Megumi had known, if she had deliberately goaded him into venturing out tonight just for this. He drew a breath, taking in the scent of dry dust and withered grass. Still nothing growing, but now he had cause to hope it would in time.

His ears pricked to the sound of a sniffle only to catch Kaoru subtly turning her face from his. He pretended not to see her scrub her sleeve across her eyes quickly, pretended not to hear her deep breaths as she took in the air and scents around her for the first time. Timidity was not a quality he associated with her, but she didn't venture far from his side even as he was caught in his reverie.

Battousai had half-expected her to begin running as soon as her feet touched the ground; instead she glanced all around her, at the sky and ground and the trees. She didn't speak, and he was loathe to break the first peaceable silence between them.

It didn't take her long to find her usual boldness. Even when he stopped, Kaoru ventured a little farther, hands clasped defensively at her waist. He soon forgot the changes in the landscape around him; he could explore that later once she was safely abed. For now Kaoru had his full attention.

She was beautiful in the evening light. Her hair was pulled up in a pony tail with her rich, blue ribbon but otherwise left to tumble freely down her back, still wet from the bath. He could smell the faintest scent from her, one of the musky scents Megumi favored. Tomorrow he would leave rose oil for her, something sweeter and lighter.

Megumi had chosen the _yukata_ to complement her ribbon; a dark blue shade with yellow petals sewn about the hem. She was the very picture of a lovely young woman as she picked her way over the grass, still taking in the sights as though it would be her last glimpse of the world. Perhaps she thought it would be.

Kaoru turned, "Is this…" her hands took in the world around them, unsure how to finish the thought. "Are we near Edo?"

"No." Battousai finally broke his silence, already regretting its loss. "This is not your world. We are not _near_ anywhere."

Kaoru frowned, glancing tellingly at the cherry trees that hadn't borne blossoms in years. "Hm. Why worry about me slipping out then?"

She didn't believe him, but she didn't have to. "We are not near anywhere, so we may go _every_ where."

Silence again while Kaoru considered. He could almost see her deciding the path she would take, debating whether she had a chance of escaping him. Battousai toyed with the thread about his finger; so long as he had that, so long as he had her name, there was nowhere she could go that he could not follow.

"Why are you doing that?" Her eyes focused on his hands, and she slowly picked her way across the grass and back to his side. She wouldn't run today then. He was relieved though he wouldn't show it.

"This is where our thread binds us." He pulled on it, noting the dubious moue of her lips. Their bond was still fledgling and weak yet; it was little wonder she didn't sense it as acutely as he.

Kaoru vividly remembered the scarlet thread about her finger, but it wasn't there now. She had dismissed it as a figment of her imagination, something conjured from high emotion the night he had taken her from the path. Yet he said it so nonchalantly, as though she ought to know what that meant.

"Binds?" She didn't like the sound of that at all.

"The string of fate." He continued, copper eyes warming to limpid amber. Kaoru struggled not to look away, perturbed at the sudden warmth there. "Binding you and I together."

Kaoru didn't want to believe it, but the suspicion had been taking root ever since she had found the illustrations in the book on his desk. After everything else she had seen and experienced, it wouldn't make sense not to credit it. Particularly not when her own failing eyes had seen it. What was it Megumi had said? That she was looking but not seeing. Kaoru wondered idly what else she did not see.

"When I escape-"

Battousai snorted, frustration and amusement mingled in a sound. Kaoru pushed on despite it.

"When I escape, will it sever our bond?"

"Nothing will." He spoke the words casually, with a hint of resignation. Kaoru was a little offended; she wasn't the most beautiful woman in the world or the smartest, but to abduct her and pretend that thread had inconvenienced _him_? It put her hackles up.

He must have noticed her bristling because he held up a placating hand, "I meant no offense."

"I'm sure you never do." Kaoru hissed.

"Kaoru."

He spoke her name intimately, and Kaoru hated the way even her skin prickled to hear it. As though he had whispered it in her ear rather than from several footsteps away.

"There has never been a bond between one of my kind and yours. It should have been impossible; we should never have been evenly matched."

"Agreed."

"Is it so strange then that I would be as puzzled as you?"

"If I'm the first human to be bonded like this how can you be sure we can't sever it? Just because it's never been tried-"

"I won't permit you to try. You will only hurt yourself and me."

"Do you really want to spend a lifetime bound to a woman that hates you? Do you want to keep me under lock and key forever, constantly worrying about when I'll next escape?"

"You haven't even managed it once."

 _A hit._ Kaoru winced. "With a lifetime of practice, I'm sure even I could figure something out."

Battousai softened almost imperceptibly and she resented him for it. So patronizing all the time, like an indulgent master watching a recalcitrant puppy frolic. She gritted her teeth.

"You are no fool, Kaoru, and no coward." Battousai leaned against the tree behind him, deathly graceful and thoroughly unconcerned. "But it will be many lifetimes before you can challenge me."

"I only have one, so I'll have to make do."

He shook his head and her stomach sank, "You have an eternity, Kaoru. We are bound."

She hadn't run. He didn't fool himself that she wouldn't though- her eyes had taken in every aspect of the world around her and more than once he had caught that considering glance settling on him. He did not flatter himself it was because she found him handsome, though he couldn't help but stand a little taller when her eyes had lingered on his face.

Not that it made much difference with his short height, but she was smaller still and today she had done everything she could to exaggerate it. To make herself seem small and unobtrusive when he vividly remembered the feel of her sharp nails raking the vulnerable skin of his back. No, he was not fooled, but he had enjoyed their time together such as it was.

"I'm not hungry yet. You should eat alone." Kaoru spoke, hovering on her threshold.

"It won't be supper time for hours."

"It was evening." Kaoru was surprised again, and annoyed if he was reading her expression right. She had an honest face, not one given to keeping secrets.

"It is always evening." It wasn't quite a lie. Informing his one-day bride that the world itself mirrored his moods and that she was the one being here not subject to his power was not the way he cared to end their tryst.

Kaoru wilted a little at that. "I see."

She rallied when the silence stretched on and he gave no sign of leaving, "Thank you for taking me outside."

Of all the things Battousai had expected, thanks hadn't been among them. He gave a shallow bow of acknowledgement. "I will take you again."

He saw how her eyes lit up, saw the cautious hope dawning in her eyes… and the cunning she tried so hard to hide. "Soon."

"Thank you." She bowed quickly and ducked into her room, sliding the door to but not before he caught a glimpse of the single flower still sitting on the floor.

At last one of his gifts had pleased her enough to keep, and he had earned at least a smidgeon of her gratitude all in a single day. Heart far lighter than it had been when he awoke, Battousai made his way to his rooms and set about his work once again. Once their boundaries were secured, he could make those trees blossom again and keep the grass green and soft enough for bare feet. Another gift he was sure she would accept.

!

!

* * *

!

Something changed between them. Kaoru couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly, but she felt its effects immediately. Battousai spoke to her over supper, at times about the world she lived in and the creatures she shared it with, other times about the thread around their fingers. She listened more too, even venturing questions rather than sitting in frigid silence.

It was a truce they had tacitly agreed upon where the day's hours were hers to explore, always seeking a way out without him, but they could share a quiet evening without it devolving into an argument. They simply didn't touch on her captivity or the way she had found herself here; it was an uneasy peace, but peace nonetheless.

Her guardians no longer bothered hiding themselves. Megumi had introduced her to Aoshi the very night she had returned from her first venture outside. A dark and quiet man, colder even than Battousai, his gaze had thawed slightly every time it fell upon the fox.

Though Battousai wasn't always cold either. Every so often Kaoru saw a spark of curiosity in his eyes as he watched her, nothing like the detached calculation of the man that had first abducted her. He seemed less tense now that they spoke of their 'bond' openly, and a time or two she thought she had seen his lips try to curve into a smile.

She wondered why his face had resisted the expression, though she no longer questioned its genuineness.

Soujirou though… He smiled all the time as so few of her acquaintances here did but she never felt anything approaching warmth from him. His entire persona was a mask and Kaoru struggled with the impulse to rip it from him and the concern for what she might find beneath. Where Aoshi was her shadow, always near but never seen unless she called to him, Soujirou was a constant companion whether she liked it or not.

He spoke to her as though they were old friends, but she had learned quickly there was a barb in nearly everything he said. He seemed entirely unaware of it, but she didn't think he would care even if he knew. Kaoru stepped lightly around him and spoke as few words as she could within his hearing.

"Are we not searching for a door today?" He chirped, taking gleeful delight in making the floor squeal and creak beneath his feet. He seemed to enjoy it best when it sounded nearly like a dying scream. Kaoru shuddered.

"Not today." Not with him. Soujirou's moods were like quicksilver and she had no desire to see what his genuine fury looked like. If he was capable of it.

"It's not such a bad thing to be Battousai's pet, I suppose." He smiled wider at Kaoru's glare. "Did I misspeak?"

"I am not a pet." She ground out past her gritted teeth.

Soujirou pretended to consider her words, "He feeds you, clothes you, gives you a bed close to his own and takes you for walks in the evening. You spend your days listening for his call and run to his side as soon as you hear it. How are you any different from a pet?"

 _I hate you_. "You should ask your lord."

Soujirou laughed, "He would not like it, but it will take more than that to get me in trouble, Miss Kaoru."

"Like what?" Kaoru asked, venomously sweet.

Soujirou hummed noncommittally and for awhile they walked in blissful silence, meandering down corridors she already knew like the back of her hand.

"It's tiresome, isn't it. Retreading the same ground again and again."

"I haven't found the doors to the other wings yet." Kaoru admitted, lulled into a false sense of security for all of a minute before she remembered who she was speaking to.

"Would you like to explore them?"

Kaoru was sure there was something nasty hidden in his words. Remembering Megumi's warning about the dangers of straying beyond the pretty cage Battousai had woven for her, Kaoru almost lied and said no. Almost.

She had never been a coward before though, nor one to shrink from an adventure. She broke the silence again with a single word after a few minutes of careful thought.

"Yes."

At first Kaoru tried keeping track of all their many twists and turns. She had a head for directions and had spent enough time wandering these halls that she had been certain she knew their every secret. Soujirou lost even her though after the first dozen or so turns.

"Are you sure we're not walking in circles?" Kaoru instinctively kept her voice low. An eerie stillness had crept up on them sometime during their journey and it made her wary.

"We're nearly to the South wing. See how much darker the halls are?"

She did, and it did nothing for her nerves. Would there be any light left in the South wing? Kaoru wasn't about to back down though; she followed Soujirou without any further questions until she noticed the hallway beginning to wind downward.

"Are we going underground?"

"Yes." Soujirou said simply, a skip in his walk that hadn't been there earlier. Kaoru didn't trust it, and not for the first time wished she had her _shinai_ to hand.

"The Southern wing." He proclaimed proudly when at last they came to a large hall flanked on either side by doors painted with fearsome masks of demons with fangs.

"What's here?" Kaoru asked, venturing out a little farther into the open. It went against her instincts as a swordswoman to cross such an open space without first taking in the lay of the land, but Soujirou was her guardian after all, and Battousai's name was already burning on her tongue.

"The things we cannot allow in the other wings." Soujirou confirmed, and Kaoru slowed a little to take stock of her surroundings.

The floor beneath her feet was old and worn, not near as clean as the hall Battousai kept her in. The doors could have used a little patching themselves, and if her eyes had not already adjusted to the shadows she would have struggled to make out the characters on the scrolls above the door. There were a couple she couldn't read, but those she could had her hair prickling again.

"Do you want to go?" Soujirou offered, and Kaoru couldn't hear a shred of amusement or fear in his voice. It was devoid of any emotion, like the man behind her, so lacking in spirit she couldn't even sense him.

Kaoru strengthened her resolve and dared another handful of steps, ignoring the creeping feeling of dread. Halfway across the room she finally conceded there were some battles she didn't need to fight, beginning with the struggle against her own instincts, which had been screaming at her to go back to the well-lit hallways ever since she had laid eyes on this strange little room.

"Let's go back-" She turned only to find the room deserted but for her. "Soujirou?"

He didn't answer. Fine. She would make her own way back, and with him no longer dogging her footsteps perhaps she could even use this new path he had taught her to find a door that led out.

Her gut clenched with fear a moment before she spotted movement from the corner of her eye- the door on her right flying open as some beast skittered out to make right for her. Kaoru swallowed bile, the fetid stench of rot and death hitting her nose before it was even halfway across the room to her. Its legs were unnaturally long but twisted in every direction, wrenching the creature as it ran toward her.

Kaoru kept it in sight as she dashed for the door- she recognized the clicking, scrabbling sound of claws and had no desire to see what it would do to her unprotected skin. She was fast, but the beast was faster and it cut off her escape route just before she reached the door.

 _Dammit_. "Out of my way!" She snarled, but there was no spark of comprehension in its glittering eyes. She could have taken it for a toad if it weren't for the fangs and claws, or the way those legs _stretched_ toward her. She kicked viciously when it reached for her and it squealed loud enough that she had to fight to keep her hands from her ears.

It swiped at her and Kaoru narrowly dodged, circling to the side rather than falling back. She didn't want to sacrifice all the ground she had gained.

It howled when it missed her, and her blood curdled when she heard an answering baying in the distance. More of them bound for her, and her back to the room at large. Desperate, she tried to bolt past it, but it caught her legs and sent her tumbling to the floor. Kaoru ignored the ache in her knees and scrambled for the door anyway, yelping when she felt claws tear at her skin. She stopped to turn and kick again, battering it until it released its hold on her ankle and scrambling to her feet.

"Soujirou!" She didn't want to call for Battousai, not yet, but when her damnable guard didn't respond she swallowed her pride, wet her throat and-

The creature screamed fit to wake the dead, sword metal suddenly sprouting from its head. Kaoru gasped in disbelief, glancing up to see Soujirou, ever smiling Soujirou, digging his blade deeper before giving it a vicious twist. Black blood dripped onto the floor, smoking where it landed. Kaoru imagined what it would have done to her skin and swallowed tightly.

Another howl, another dying scream as Soujirou severed the head of the next beast to appear from beyond the door. Kaoru looked away from the gasping mouth, the eyes that still seemed to be looking for her.

"What were those?" She gasped out, struggling not to lose what little food was on her stomach.

"Two of the reasons Battousai keeps you confined to his wing. Do you understand?"

Kaoru couldn't do more than stare at him in stunned silence, and all the while that smile she had grown to hate never dimmed.

!

!

"That son of a bitch." Kaoru whispered it under her breath, casting a searching glance over her shoulder. It was Aoshi's turn to watch her, but she had a decent idea now of who had been laughing at her for days while she tried to find her way out. Her ankle and knees still throbbed with pain but she was careful not to show it. She had cleaned the cuts and abrasions herself before wrapping it in a cloth Soujirou had provided, mentally cursing the smiling man and his damned imperfect timing.

She had an earful for Battousai this evening, and he wasn't going to know a moment's rest until he heard it and actually listened for once. So much for being bound, she thought irritably. Of course she could have called for him, but it had been _his_ appointed guard that had failed her and she held him responsible for it.

Screaming at him wouldn't do any good, she knew that much from experience. She would have to be calm and collected, just like him. Kaoru drew a breath, releasing it on a soft sigh and forced the scowl from her face. She could never manage his perfectly unperturbed expression, it was entirely foreign to her nature, but she would try not to let her fury show so plainly.

She pulled her hair back into an even tighter pony tail as she marched across the nightingale floor, delighting in the noise for once. With one final glance at her _yukata_ to make sure she had smoothed the wrinkles out she strode boldly into the dragon's lair.

He was waiting for her as he always was, food already set before him and a tray for her set across from him. She stumbled with surprise on the threshold: tonight his hair fell loose about his shoulders, shimmering strands of autumn reds and oranges tumbling freely down his back. He combed his fingers through it roughly, pulling it back and up once more. His face looked haggard and gray, the hollows under his eyes pronounced in a face that seemed to be gaunter than it had been last night.

Kaoru took the final few steps and knelt in her place, eyes roaming over him. "You don't look well."

So much for her intentions, but he looked like death itself. What would become of her if he died? That was all she was concerned about, Kaoru assured herself.

He huffed a laugh and Kaoru gaped in astonishment- while she had become accustomed to his weak smiles, each one was still a rare and unexpected sight. She had never thought to hear a laugh from him.

"Perhaps I only need a little outside air. Will you join me tonight?"

 _Takes you for walks in the evening_. Kaoru ignored Soujirou's words, "Of course."

She had never yet passed up an opportunity. After all that had occurred this afternoon, she would have to take her chance on running tonight if she couldn't make Battousai see reason. She had bided her time, had made note of every aspect of the landscape she could see, but finally her patience was at an end. He was so weak tonight she thought even with her injuries she might be able to outrun him. And Aoshi. And Soujirou.

Kaoru swallowed, forcing the thoughts out of her head. No sense losing the battle before it had even started.

She waited until he had poured their tea before she tried her first foray. "I visited the Southern wing today."

Battousai hesitated, chopsticks hovering in the air while his eyes fixed on her.

"I encountered a few of the things you keep there."

"Souji," he spat, and the sheer malice glinting at her from those eyes would have made her fear for Soujirou if she wasn't so angry herself.

"I asked him to take me." Even angry as she was, Kaoru couldn't bear to see an injustice done.

"I expected you to, just as I expected him to deny you." Battousai rumbled. "You will not go there again."

 _Perfect_. "Then you will keep me here for an eternity. In my little room, seeing you only over supper, wandering the halls while I search for an escape. Taking me for walks in the evening." She finished.

"Someday you will stop searching." Battousai managed a few bites of his rice, but he never lingered over his food. Kaoru wasn't sure she had ever seen him enjoy anything. "And, of course, you are free to share my rooms whenever you please."

"I will never please, and I will never stop looking for a way out." Kaoru bit her tongue hurriedly. That was ground they had already trod and if she tried again he would only close his ears and dig his heels in. "If we are bound, if it lasts an eternity as you've said, why do you begrudge me a single lifetime with my family?"

Battousai laid his chopsticks aside, and for a second Kaoru dared to hope. She had struck home, she could read it in his eyes when he looked at her, head tilted and jaw working as he considered what to say.

"You don't belong with them any more." He said finally, and Kaoru wasn't sure whether she was imagining the edge of pained understanding in his voice. "You are not a spirit, but you are no longer entirely human either."

"The food-"

" _Not_ the food." Battousai hastened to assure her, "The thread between us has only grown stronger. Whether you can see it or not it exerts its influence on you. From the moment we met you would never have found a home in your world again. Perhaps you should not have been there to begin with."

Kaoru opened her mouth to ask what he meant by that but Battousai pressed on. "You will not age, Kaoru. Not in the same way as the rest of your kind." His lips quirked, "And eventually you will find your power. I cannot say how long that will take, but sighted Humans rarely fare well among their own kind."

"You can't tell me I belong in your world and then show me only a tiny fraction of it. You're keeping me in a cage-"

"For now." He agreed so casually it set her teeth on edge. "Our world is unsettled and my grasp of it is not as firm as it once was. Once my work is seen to you can wander wherever you like."

"I've seen war." Kaoru pressed, "It's everywhere and no one escapes it, but no one has ever dared to tell me I didn't have the right to live my life in spite of it."

"Human squabbles can't be compared to our conflicts, and whatever skills you learned before won't do you any good here."

Kaoru shifted, reminded of her pain and the creature that had caused it. Battousai's gaze sharpened, "Were you hurt?"

"No. Yes. A little." Kaoru damned herself a dozen times over for her clumsy tongue.

"Let me see."

Battousai shuffled around the food, kneeling next to her. Slowly, Kaoru lifted the hem of her _yukata_ , trying not to blush though his gaze held nothing but concern. "It's just a few scratches."

He seized the wound and Kaoru yelped as white-hot heat scalded her, followed by a sudden absence of pain. She gaped at her skin where seconds before the claw marks had been.

"Always come to me when you are injured," he commanded, but Kaoru noticed his skin was paler than it had been when they began their meal and his fingertips shook with either emotion or fatigue. Perhaps both. Either way, she couldn't hide her worry.

Kaoru didn't agree or disagree, determined that this would mark the last time she was hurt in his keeping.

They finished the rest of the meal in silence, Kaoru eating only sparingly. She didn't want too heavy a meal on her stomach when she made her escape tonight.

Battousai was lost in his own thoughts, and even she could not pull him from it. After a couple unanswered questions, Kaoru finally gave up; she had her own troubled thoughts to occupy her.

!

!

There were streaks of blue in the sky outside, Battousai noted idly. The sky had lightened even since he had last made time to bring Kaoru outside. She didn't seem to notice, and little wonder when it was plain she had chosen tonight to make her bid for freedom.

He hadn't felt her pain through their bond at all, neither her fear. Kaoru hadn't called for him even when the beast had obviously had her in its jaws. Why? They spent evening after evening in each other's company, and if she wasn't fond of him then at least her hatred had thawed to anger.

Her sapphire eyes had lit up with all the warmth of a summer day when she saw the new grass beneath her feet, soft and cool and welcoming. Blossoms had appeared on the trees- pink cherry blossoms and purple wisteria; the wind carried their sweet scent to her and Kaoru tossed her head back to draw it in, luxuriating in the frozen moment in time.

He had been distracted today, pulling on the dregs of his reserves to give this to her. He was weary to the bone but he could not rest; she was only distracted, not deterred.

"It's beautiful!" She called over her shoulder; he smiled in return though it was a melancholy expression. She would be furious when he caught her again tonight.

Battousai glanced to the thread on his finger, red as heart's blood and more vibrant these days. It had grown only a little stronger in all the time he kept her. As much as he wanted to keep her, she did not want to be kept. As long as they stood at this impasse their bond would remain a fledgling one. He thought back to her plea over supper- a single lifetime without him, a brief return to her own world in the grand scheme of things.

It wasn't safe though. Particularly not with the enemies he had made still loose on the earth. Her own kind would sense that she didn't belong among them, but his…If she left him she would always be fair game, and sooner or later she would meet a bloody end.

Even so he couldn't help but contrast the angry waif that wandered his halls each day with the woman before him, vibrant and alive and so blissfully unaware of the choice she was making when she decided to run. This was the Kaoru he preferred, the one he had glimpsed from time to time in their heated arguments over supper.

"Kaoru."

She was a few yards ahead, wandering toward the trees. He almost expected her to bolt at the sound of her name, but she paused to glance back at him, still as a deer caught in the hunter's sights. The comparison didn't sit well with him.

"Join me." Then, because he knew nothing angered her so much as his orders, he added a soft "Please."

It was the please that did it. Kaoru turned toward him, trying and failing not to look over her shoulder the way she thought freedom lay. Still, she turned and hesitantly strolled toward him, struggling to keep the confusion from her face. He sat in the grass, pulling his sword from its place at his hip and laying it across his lap, one hand on the hilt as always.

Kaoru approached anyway, and he couldn't hide his startlement when instead of sitting before him she came right to his side and knelt there, thoroughly unconcerned with the grass stains already soaking into her clothes.

"What is it?"

She thought this was a farewell. Battousai leaned haphazardly toward her, testing to see whether she would allow it. Testing to see how far she trusted him.

"I knew it. You're ill." She grumbled, yanking him unceremoniously into her and resting a hand against his forehead. "You're running a fever."

"Not a fever." Battousai murmured, but with his power so eager to be used his skin was burning with the effort of suppressing it.

Kaoru snorted, "I have a little brother, I know all about fevers."

"Brother?" _Not a son_.

"Not by blood." Kaoru added, a hint of sadness in her tone. "But we've been together so long he might as well be. He helps me run the _dojo_ supposedly, but usually he just eats my food and complains I don't cook well enough." She sniffed and Battousai caught the salty tang of tears in the air. "He likes to pretend that's why he spends all his time lurking around the hot pot restaurant, but really he's just sweet on the kitchen girl."

She giggled, though he heard the hitch in her breath that heralded a sob. "I think she's sweet on him too. He begs for scraps like a stray mutt, but she cooks entire meals for him sometimes. He gets so embarrassed, I can't help teasing him."

Kaoru had never spoken about her family to him before. Battousai didn't dare interrupt her; she was careful not to use names, he noticed with a flash of pride, but she shared small glimpses into what her life had been like before. He understood a little better what she was fighting so desperately to return to. Lulled by her warmth and the steady drone of her voice, Battousai sank into a light doze.

Kaoru felt the moment he drifted off by the way his weight sank into her, his head resting heavy on her shoulder and breaths turning deep and steady. She didn't stop speaking for a long time, retelling her stories for herself, hoping some of them reached him wherever he went when he dreamed. Yahiko and Tae and Tsubame, faces she would be seeing again soon. Even that freeloader Sano could count on a meal at her table as soon as she was home.

Her legs were going numb by the time she finally moved, inching out from under Battousai's weight centimeter by agonizing centimeter. His breathing became shallow but he didn't wake to stop her. Finally she stood again, quietly stretching. She had arbitrarily decided to head West. It seemed fitting the way this world was always caught in the minutes just before sunset.

She glanced down to Battousai almost pityingly. His cheeks had regained some of their color as he slept, maybe from the fever. He almost looked harmless as he was now, if not for the blade still lying across his lap. Kaoru had briefly debated trying to steal it, but that would certainly wake him. Ill as he was she still didn't want to fight him; she knew she would lose.

Kaoru shook off the last of her guilt- he was sick, not dying, and caring for him was not her duty. She had just turned to go when his hand shot out and caught her, holding her in place effortlessly even when she tugged with all her weight behind it.

"Don't go."

"I told you I would." Kaoru countered, but something in his voice made her pause and reconsider the blow she had been about to deal him.

His eyes caught hers and held, not with mute command this time but a plea. There was an edge of determination in the set of his chin that made her wary. His next words knocked the last of the fight out of her.

"What if I agreed to send you home?"

Kaoru tumbled back into the grass next to him, hand seizing his own in a vice grip. "Do you mean it?"

"Not for a lifetime-" Kaoru's fist clenched and he had the distinct impression she meant to strike him with it.

"Forever."

Kaoru was stunned, mouth agape and eyes wide. The next second they narrowed in understanding. "What would I owe in exchange?"

"Strike a bargain with me- a wager. If I win, you will stay here with me and never attempt to return to your life. If you win then you stay in your home and I will never come to you unless you call."

Her eyes flashed to his blade, considering. That was a wager she could not win and they both knew it.

"I don't mean to fight you, Kaoru. I will return you home right now."

"And?"

"If you can find a man you love more than I love you within a year and a day then I will leave you to your happiness."

"You don't love me."

"Then it is hardly a challenge." He bridled to hear the untruth from her lips, but explaining the future the thread had assured them would do nothing but anger her.

He saw the naked cunning on her face; she thought he had not chosen his words carefully enough, that her family, her brother, could be her salvation. Weak as it was yet their bond was still stronger than blood, but he would not deprive her of her hope.

"You will send me home immediately, and I have a year and a day?"

"Yes."

Kaoru's smile was fiercely triumphant, face alight with pure joy. "I agree."

He spoke a word of command and she disappeared as though she had never been. He could still feel her warmth in the palm of his hand.

Battousai sat outside a few minutes longer, watching the sky darken and once more turn to night before he stood and willed himself back to his rooms. A year and a day he had promised her, but he had never promised she would return alone.

!

!

* * *

!

The bright morning sunlight was disorienting when only a moment ago it had been twilight. Kaoru stood on the road a few minutes, collecting her wits. She pinched herself roughly and squealed with delight when she felt the pinch of pain. It wasn't a dream, she was home.

She hurried down the path as fast as her feet would carry her, running through the stitch in her side while her lungs greedily sucked in air, staler the closer she drew to the city proper. She was red and panting by the time she reached the gates of the training hall, legs trembling with the effort of running so long.

Kaoru didn't hesitate, just pushed on into the yard…

Yahiko was beating a rug as though it had personally wronged him, kerchief tied around his face and skin nearly as red as her own with exertion. The switch dropped from suddenly nerveless fingers when he saw her, tan skin draining unnaturally pale.

"Yahiko!"

He ripped the kerchief from his face, tears already leaving streaks through the dust all over him. Teary herself for once Kaoru didn't tease him; her legs shook so hard she stood still and let him rush to her, laughing when he nearly bowled her over, touching and squeezing her arms, yanking her face down to look at him.

"Are you real? Where the hell have you _been_? Are you all right? I _hate_ you, Kaoru!"

She squeezed until he squeaked with distress, "I hate you more, brat, but I'm home."

Her mask finally cracked and she heaved a wracking sob, burying her face in his dirty shoulder and letting her tears fall in earnest. Kaoru pretended not to notice the way Yahiko's shoulders heaved in her arms or the patch of wetness on her _yukata_.

"Welcome back." He managed, voice muffled in the cotton.


End file.
